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Creating an effective sales force is an art unto itself. But few things are as important to driving your business. Even before you find that great sales talent, you need to decide how you want your sales structured. Depending on your type of business, you may have only a couple of realistic options. But if your line of business is more complex or your operation larger in size, you may face the task of sorting through numerous ideas.

Geographical

Focusing your means on geographical specialties can be useful for mastering markets and addressing customers more thoroughly. Perhaps you want territories for each of your sales people. They then have the job of thoroughly working their territory to exploit the maximum number of sales. This highly valid approach works in industries like telecommunications, staffing, periodical advertising and many others. Another strength to this approach is that different areas contain different demographics. Selling may require a completely different approach in the suburbs than it does downtown. Some areas with high concentrations of a particular ethnic group may require different techniques that are culturally sensitive. Geographical blocking allows your sales force to hone in on their markets.

Product-Based

Salespeople can become experts in one or two products or services instead of the entire line. Sometimes being an expert at one or two things is better than knowing a little about a lot. This works well in highly technical fields or in sales to professionals. For example, when dealing with physicians about medical equipment, a salesperson has to be very knowledgeable and able to speak to a physician's concerns and questions. Having someone with in-depth knowledge of a product can put him a step above a better product with a lesser salesperson.

Client-Based

Structuring sales forces by type of client can be another useful approach. If your organizations sells to a variety of clients, it may be helpful for your sales people to focus on the approaches that work best for a particular type of client. For example, when selling health care and life insurance plans, large companies have different needs, decision making processes and buying power than small businesses. Sales people need to work very differently to secure business from a Fortune 500 company than they do at a local 50-employee business. Allowing sales people to specialize their approaches to their client base can help them to be more effective.

About the Author

Eric Feigenbaum started his career in print journalism, becoming editor-in-chief of "The Daily" of the University of Washington during college and afterward working at two major newspapers. He later did many print and Web projects including re-brandings for major companies and catalog production.